Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

How Acupuncture Helps Cancer Patients

 

The acupuncturist diagnoses cancer acupuncture patients based on syndrome differentiation, finds the acupoints corresponding to the disease, and uses special metal needles to stimulate the acupoints to reconcile qi and blood and unblock the meridians.

Through treatment, the body can return to the balance of yin and yang and restore its normal physiological functions to cure diseases.

As early as 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the United States pointed out that acupuncture can relieve nausea, vomiting, pain, and other side effects of cancer radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In addition, it is safe, so it should be included in regular medical programs. So far, most cancer centers in the United States have set up complementary therapy centers and provide acupuncture services.

(1) Pain

According to statistics, as many as 80% of patients have to endure the pain caused by cancer and its treatment. When acupuncture is combined with medicine for pain relief, it can be more effective than using pain relief alone. This combination can also help reduce pain medication’s dosage and side effects.

 

(2) Gastrointestinal discomfort

Chemotherapy patients may experience gastrointestinal discomfort, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation. Acupuncture can prevent and treat nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and other symptoms caused by chemotherapy and can reduce the dose of antiemetic drugs in Western medicine.

 

(3) Neuropathy

Some cancer patients must be treated with chemotherapy drugs such as platinum and paclitaxel, which can easily lead to peripheral neuropathy, causing pain, numbness, and insensitivity in the limbs. It takes months or even years for many patients to recover after chemotherapy, which affects the function of daily activities and quality of life. Studies have shown that acupuncture can improve the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, relieve pain and numbness in patients’ limbs during chemotherapy, and promote the recovery of limb sensation in patients after chemotherapy.

 

(4) Fatigue

According to statistics, 70-90% of cancer patients experience cancer-related fatigue that rest cannot fully relieve. Studies have found that acupuncture can significantly improve cancer-related fatigue. In addition, for cancer patients who are physically weak and unable to exercise, acupuncture can enhance their fatigue and weakness.

 

(5) Hot flashes, night sweats, or joint stiffness and pain

Patients with breast and prostate cancer often use hormone therapy in Modern medicine to treat and control tumor growth. However, hormone therapy can easily cause hot flashes, night sweats, or joint stiffness and pain, causing great distress to patients’ lives. Studies have found that acupuncture can effectively improve these side effects caused by drugs. Therefore, acupuncture is worth considering as an adjuvant cancer treatment for patients needing hormone therapy for many years.

 

(6) Sleep problems, emotional anxiety, or depression

Acupuncture is also commonly used to improve sleep disturbance, emotional anxiety, or depression in cancer patients.

 

(7) Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing

Acupuncture can also help common clinical problems such as dry mouth and dysphagia.

 

All in all, acupuncture can not only effectively alleviate the common symptoms of various cancer patients and improve the quality of life of patients but also can harmonize the functions of Qi, blood, and the whole body, improve the immune system, and help fight cancer. 

Moreover, acupuncture is safe and effective and will not interact with medicine, so it is worthy of clinical use.

 

Relate readings: Cancer- Adjuvant therapy for cancer and ways to improve side effects.

 

Reference:

Yang J, Wahner-Roedler DL, Zhou X, Johnson LA, Do A, Pachman DR, Chon TY, Salinas M, Millstine D, Bauer BA. Acupuncture for palliative cancer pain management: systematic review. BMJ Support Palliat Care. 2021 Sep;11(3):264-270. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002638. Epub 2021 Jan 13. PMID: 33441387; PMCID: PMC8380897.

Paley CA, Johnson MI, Tashani OA, Bagnall AM. Acupuncture for cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Oct 15;2015(10):CD007753. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007753.pub3. PMID: 26468973; PMCID: PMC6513493.

Vickers AJ, Vertosick EA, Lewith G, MacPherson H, Foster NE, Sherman KJ, Irnich D, Witt CM, Linde K; Acupuncture Trialists’ Collaboration. Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis. J Pain. 2018 May;19(5):455-474. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2017.11.005. Epub 2017 Dec 2. PMID: 29198932; PMCID: PMC5927830.

Deng G, Bao T, Mao JJ. Understanding the Benefits of Acupuncture Treatment for Cancer Pain Management. Oncology (Williston Park). 2018 Jun;32(6):310-6. PMID: 29940063.

Lau CHY, Wu X, Chung VCH, Liu X, Hui EP, Cramer H, Lauche R, Wong SYS, Lau AYL, Sit RWS, Ziea ETC, Ng BFL, Wu JCY. Acupuncture and Related Therapies for Symptom Management in Palliative Cancer Care: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 Mar;95(9):e2901. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000002901. Erratum in: Medicine (Baltimore). 2016 May 20;95(20):e90e6. PMID: 26945382; PMCID: PMC4782866.

Cheng CS, Chen LY, Ning ZY, Zhang CY, Chen H, Chen Z, Zhu XY, Xie J. Acupuncture for cancer-related fatigue in lung cancer patients: a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Support Care Cancer. 2017 Dec;25(12):3807-3814. doi: 10.1007/s00520-017-3812-7. Epub 2017 Jul 13. PMID: 28707168.

Li H, Liu H. Combined effects of acupuncture and auricular acupressure for relieving cancer-related fatigue in patients during lung cancer chemotherapy: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine (Baltimore). 2021 Oct 22;100(42):e27502. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000027502. PMID: 34678883; PMCID: PMC8542116.

Hubner J, Dorfler J, Freuding M, Zaiser C, Buntzel J, Keinki C, Käsmann L. Methodological Review: Summary of Findings for Acupuncture as Treatment for Cancer Therapy-induced Xerostomia. In Vivo. 2022 Nov-Dec;36(6):2579-2597. doi: 10.21873/invivo.12993. PMID: 36309356; PMCID: PMC9677756.

Halámková J, Dymáčková R, Adámková Krákorová D. Acupuncture from the perspective of evidence-based medicine – options of clinical use based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. Klin Onkol. 2022 Spring;35(2):94-99. English. doi: 10.48095/ccko202294. PMID: 35459333.